By Rachael Russell | Project Leader
Thanks to your kind donations, our health workers have been able to support the delivery and early neo-natal care of babies in the remote Nepali Himalaya. PHASE have also been able to provide expectant mothers living further from the health post with birthing packs which include soap, a clean blade and a plastic sheet, all of which are essential for a safe delivery.
PHASE is encouraging women to come to the health centre for antenatal checks and safe delivery. Sitamaya has been working for PHASE for 4 years. She feels that the work of PHASE is particularly important for the more disadvantaged women in Gorkha:
Before PHASE started work in Gorkha, there were no trained health workers who could assist women in childbirth. The better off families therefore often sent the pregnant mother to stay with friends or family in the cities, near a hospital, but those from the poorest and least educated families didn't have this option. PHASE health workers have particularly changed the situation for these women, by being able to offer safe delivery care and treatment of common complications.
PHASE staff are often the only health workers in the remote villages in which we work. If expectant mothers come to our health centre it is important that our staff can deal with complex health issues. To ensure the staff have the required skill and expertise, and following our commitment to ongoing training for our staff team, four senior midwives from Rotherham hospital (Emma Carver, Joanne Lancashire, Marian Childs and Shahida Mehrban) visited our Kathmandu office earlier this year and delivered training in practical obstetric emergency care skills. It was a fantastic training course that was fun, interesting and interactive.
The obstetric unit at Rotherham has donated some training models to PHASE, which we use each year, and the midwives were able to borrow some additional training materials from Rotherham hospital. The course was specifically designed to apply to our staff's working environment and skill level – the midwives use the PHASE Nepal clinic guidelines so advice is consistent.
The training is very effective and we know that it has, on several occasions, really assisted staff in isolated areas to cope when dealing with emergencies such as breech deliveries or shoulder dystocia (when the head gets born but the shoulders get stuck). These are emergencies where the baby usually dies if there is nobody who knows how to help, so the skills PHASE health workers learn during the sessions on this course are truly lifesaving.
Things are changing in Gorkha district, and the community is becoming more aware about how to take care of their health and that of their family’s. They are also learning the benefits of giving birth in a clean place with the help of a trained health worker. We value everything you have done to make this possible for us and would like to say a very sincere thank you.
It is your support that is keeping this health post open and paying for qualified workers like Sitamaya but PHASE needs funds to continue its vital health care projects in remote areas of the Nepali Himalaya. Whilst we know Christmas is an expensive time for a lot of families we are also very thankful for donations we receive around this time as people look to give back in celebration of all they are blessed with – if you can afford to make a donation to PHASE Worldwide this Christmas please click here:
http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/projects/safe-births-in-nepal/
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